West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) expressed suspicion in an interview with CNN Thursday about fellow GOP rulers in Texas and Mississippi removing mask mandates, saying the state would maintain its own restrictions on moment.
“I will not let this become political football,” Justice told John King of CNN. “In West Virginia, we want to be prudent, we want to be safe, we want to be respectful of everyone’s rights and everything, and we’ve done the right thing during all of this.”
Throughout the pandemic, Justice said, “We’ve always listened to the experts and always let them drive … we’ve been bold, but we’ve been careful.”
“If we keep vaccinating more and more, we will remove the mask. But I don’t really know what the rush is to remove it because these masks have saved a lot, a lot of lives,” he added. Justice added that he and his medical advisers have not yet debated the removal of the mask warrant. “If we don’t watch, we can make some mistakes.”
“If we keep vaccinating more and more, we’ll get rid of the mask. But I don’t really know what the rush is to get rid of it because those masks have saved a lot, a lot of life,” says West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice. when states begin to lift mask mandates pic.twitter.com/WJoVRRLaDs
– CNN Press Room (@CNNnewsroom) March 4, 2021
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced this week that they will completely lift all state mask mandates and business capability limits. However, major retailers such as Target, CVS Health and Aldi have said they will maintain their own mask requirements even in states to undo mandates.